Public Enemy

The 20 Best San Francisco Concerts of 2012, According to Us

Whether you preferred the dancefloor at Mighty, the plush environs of Bimbo's 365 Club, or the dewy late-night fields of Outside Lands, there were plenty of great concerts in San Francisco and the Bay Area in 2012. We reviewed many of them, from "secret" shows at semi-legal clubs to sprawling, three ... More >>

In Praise of Artists Touring With Nothing New to Promote

The idea introduced by the Don't Look Back concert series, an offshoot of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival, has found its way into the broader live music circuit over the last few years: a band, currently operational or not, comes together to play one of its most influential albums all the way th ... More >>

Treasure Island Fest Adds Rare Joanna Newsom Performance to Lineup

If you find this this year's Treasure Island lineup a little light on pedal harps, oddly high-pitched voices, and Northern California female songwriters who are also models, we've got good news: Joanna Newsom was just added to the bill! The 30-year-old Nevada City native is set to play the festiva ... More >>

Veteran Rappers: Do You Really Need to Continue Making New Records?

There was a time, back in the late '80s, when the legendary Bronx rapper KRS-One was a candidate for the title of Greatest Rapper of All Time. Twenty-five years later, though, the self-anointed Blastmaster's latest long-player, The B.D.P. Album, suggests that compulsory retirement from the recording ... More >>

Tri Angle Records Fetes Its Birthday with oOoOO and Water Borders, Outside Lands 2011 Wrap-Up, and More

From SF Weekly's latest print music section: oOoOO's Christopher Greenspan​Tri Angle Records showcase: Roughly a year ago, a young New York-based blogger named Robin Carolan did what many lovers of music often only dream of: He started his own record label. Calling it Tri Angle Records, Carol ... More >>

The Top 10 New Jack Swing Anthems of All Time

This Thursday, one-time New Edition member and new jack swing icon Johnny Gill will be performing a set at Yoshi's. Credited as the creation of Teddy Riley, new jack swing saw R&B vocals being fused with uptempo beats coated in the bumptious attitude of hip-hop. At the subgenre's height in the '90s, ... More >>

R.I.P. Gil Scott-Heron 1949-2011

Adam Turner/WikimediaGil Scott-Heron at SF's Regency Ballroom in 2009​ Poet, author, proto-rapper and political soul/jazz singer-songwriter Gil Scott-Heron died Friday, May 27 at the age of 62. The cause of death has not been confirmed as of press time, but the BBC has reported that he had fal ... More >>

Juke Hunt Finale: The Best Jukeboxes in San Francisco

You saw it coming...​Over the past few months, we've found treasures and trash in San Francisco bars: Old school jukeboxes with surprisingly sincere music picks, and sad little boxes we  urge you to skip. It's all come to this: The juke hunt winners distilled into a single list, the best offe ... More >>

On the Hunt for the Best Jukebox in the Haight

The juke at Aub Zam Zam​The heyday of authentic jukeboxes is long over. With many bars installing those nasty touchscreen digital Internet boxes, the old school record-flipping kind of jukebox is a dying breed. And this is in the town that originated the concept of jukeboxes back in 1889. So what ... More >>

The Supposed Horrors of Salem, Plus Recent Highs and Lows in S.F. Music

Salem​The Supposed Horrors of Salem:  ... Yet there's something totally hatable about Salem, something that in recent months has caused music writers to dogpile on the band with an M.I.A's.-truffle-fry fury. There is, of course the insane backstory of member John Holland, who told an int ... More >>

Watch Photographer Glen Friedman and Artist Shepard Fairey Discuss Punk and Hip-Hop in San Francisco

Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys in a photo by Glen Friedman​We were pretty stoked about pioneering punk, hip-hop, and skate photographer Glen E. Friedman's current show at San Francisco's 941 Geary -- and we weren't the only ones. Burning Flags Press and director Colin M. Day interviewed Friedma ... More >>

"Fuck You All": Glen Friedman's punk and hip-hop photos are meant to inspire

"Fuck You All": Glen Friedman's punk and hip-hop photos are meant to inspire

Swam Lake

Report: Everyone Hates Cyclists, Cyclists Hate Everyone

Just like Thanksgiving or a family reunion: On San Francisco's streets, everyone hates everyone else​On the eve of Bike to Work day, the city put out an analysis codifying what we already knew: Drivers hate cyclists; cyclists hate drivers; cops hate cyclists; and cyclists hate cops -- though they ... More >>

Sasquatch! Music Festival Lineup: Pavement, Dam-Funk, Girls, Massive Attack, the XX

Joseph SchellEdward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros: festival favorites​More music news today for festicationers: Sasquatch! Music Festival laid out its lineup last night at a party at Seattle's Crocodile Cafe. This Memorial Day Weekend (May 29-31) the indie rock caravans will head to Washington's ... More >>

Last Night: A-Trak, Theophilus London, Treasure Fingers, Trackademicks

Angela BoatwrightA-TrakA-Trak, Theophilus London, Treasure Fingers, Trackademicks July 16th, 2009 The Independent Review by Noah Sanders Better than: Actually attending a rave in the early '90s. Last night's A-Trak show at The Independent seemed pieced together with a lingering adoration of the e ... More >>

"Claire Fontaine: The Exhibition Formerly Known as Passengers"

Swine Flu, Shwine Flu: Curiously Written Missive From Mexican Tourism Board Urges Visitors to Come Anyway

Public Enemy No. 1...Employing language worthy of a fast-talking abogado, a release fired off Wednesday by the Mexican Tourism Board and Ministry of Tourism and sent to members of the American media by Mexican consulates notes that "No tourists currently in Mexico have been infected by the H1N1 Infl ... More >>

Countdown to Noise Pop: 22 Days

Courtesy of Noise Pop The Closer: Les Savy Fav Get ready, San Francisco. That annual extravaganza of musical zanyness, alt./indie hiptitude, and overall sub-mainstream coolness known as Noise Pop is only three short weeks away! As always, attending a festival with so many performances in ... More >>

The Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas Headline Annual Rock the Bells Festival

Flavor of Love Tryouts SF

The “Fava of Love” Salad starring Fava Fav!

The “Fava of Love” Salad starring Fava Fav!

Good Clean Smut

Good Clean Smut

Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos

The misunderstood adventures of the Bishop of Hip Hop

BeatBox

DJ Toph One mixes it up at a new Friday happy hour; Digital Underground offers a silly reprieve from silly hip hop

Step Right Up

Running away with the circus

The Gospel Truth

Exquisite noise at Slim's

No Bedtime Story

Playwright Mary Zimmerman's next splash

R.I.P. JMJ

A hip hop happening in honor of the late, lamented Jam Master Jay

BeatBox

The DJ that dared to remix Elvis, the man behind the Lazy Dog, and the ninjas that make up Ninja Tune

Reps Etc.

Primal Scream

Evil Heat

War on War Songs

Iraq and roll don't go together well when rockers protest

23 Skidoo

The Gospel Comes to New Guinea
Just Like Everybody Part Two

Hear This

Legendary DJ Afrika Bambaataa brings his b-boy esoterica to town

That's Edutainment

Rico Pabón and the Prophets of Rage find beauty in times of struggle

House Of Tudor

Les Nubians, Andrea Parker, Stereo Total, House of Horror, and Cloyne Court Haunted Hotel

Riff Raff

Riff Raff

Riff Raff

Night+Day

Tabla Manners

Cornershop at the intersection of indie and Indian

The Sound vs. Fury

The secret success of 1995's rhythm nation

Samples

Jazzoetry

The return of the legendary Last Poets

Revolting Cocks

The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'n' Roll by Simon Reynolds and Joy Press

Schools of Thought

The Roots, the Nonce and DJ Hurricane take hip hop to the next level